Panagora Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Natera, Inc. $NTRA

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 393,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,951 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Natera were worth $90,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its stake in Natera by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 163 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Greenline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Natera during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NTRA shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research cut their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Natera in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $265.00 price target on Natera in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Natera from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natera presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.53.

Natera Price Performance

NTRA opened at $212.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.10 and a beta of 1.56. Natera, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.81 and a 52 week high of $256.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $206.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Burkes Brophy sold 3,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.74, for a total value of $594,781.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,293,298.34. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 3,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.69, for a total value of $693,564.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 142,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,984,068.55. The trade was a 2.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,378 shares of company stock valued at $34,640,860. 5.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Natera Profile

Natera is a global diagnostics company that develops and commercializes cell-free DNA and other genetic testing technologies for clinical applications. The company focuses on three principal areas: reproductive health (including non-invasive prenatal testing and carrier screening), oncology (tumor-informed assays for minimal residual disease and recurrence monitoring), and organ transplantation (cell-free DNA tests to detect allograft injury). Natera combines laboratory testing, proprietary bioinformatics, and clinical reporting to deliver personalized genetic information to clinicians and patients.

Key product offerings include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and select single-gene conditions; Horizon carrier screening for inherited conditions; Signatera, a personalized, tumor-informed assay used for detecting minimal residual disease and monitoring treatment response in cancer patients; and Prospera, a donor-derived cell-free DNA test used to assess the risk of organ rejection.